Bob Dylan

Memphis was a design movement hatched in the early Eighties by Milanese rebels who championed bold colours and quirky patterns. The name, inspired by a Bob Dylan track, described furniture, fabrics and lamps in playful geometric shapes and clashing colours, decorated with squiggles and dots.

It was intended as an antidote to the conventional style of the Seventies, but back then it never registered so much as a blip on mainstream furnishings. Today, however, Memphis is back in town. It was seen at the Milan Furniture Fair in April and now London has embraced the look.